The first episode of Intel and Toshiba’s third social film The Power Inside is a well-made, quirky, and succinct introduction to a story we’ve seen a dozen times, but never quite like this. And judging from what we’ve seen in this 8-minute episode, The Power Inside definitely holds a lot of promise.

The story takes a page from Invasion of the Body Snatchers as evil aliens called “Uricks” land on Earth and start possessing human bodies with the purpose of dominating the planet. There is a slightly oddball twist to the whole thing though: once one of these “snatchers” possesses its victim, his or her body grows either a moustache or a unibrow. Judging from this, it’s clear that the story doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is a good thing — since there are far too many straight-faced alien invasion movies already.

At the centre of the story is a twenty-year-old fellow named Neil (played by Craig Roberts) who’s so socially awkward around women yet endearingly clever that it’s hard not to be reminded of a similar character from the Transformers movies, played by none other than Shia LaBeouf. In spite of this glaring similarity, Roberts is far more charming and likeable than LaBeouf, and it’s not beyond reason to assume that he’ll develop into a much more interesting protagonist down the road.

Actors Analeigh Tipton and Harvey Keitel (yes, that Harvey Keitel) also appear in the movie, but their characters haven’t been developed enough just yet, so there isn’t much to say here. It’s nice though to see an actor as prolific as Keitel in a web-based series of such nature, and we’re sure he’ll give us a terrific performance in the upcoming episodes.

This one was directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon, who will direct all the upcoming entries in the film as well. There’s nothing particularly notable about their style, but it gets the job done in a clear and slick manner, which is all that really counts. And unlike many other recent web-based series, this one actually has high production values. So, that means that there are no fake-looking CGI sets or bad writing. The writing here is sharp and believable, while the special effects are superbly done, so no complaints here. In fact, we’re sure that if The Power Inside were stretched over the silver screen, it would look just as impressive as it does on the small screen.

Now let’s talk about the general premise of the whole project. The idea is basically the same as what we’ve seen in Intel and Toshiba’s previous project The Beauty Inside. The audience gets to participate in the story and determine its final outcome by becoming supporting actors in the film. All you have to do is go on the film’s Facebook page or their website, choose your side — Uricks or humans — and upload a video or photo of yourself wearing or taking off a moustache.

Overall, The Power Inside sounds like a fantastic experiment that hopefully will inspire more production companies to do the same. The best part about this is that it’s very enjoyable to watch — and that’s what truly counts when it comes to projects like these. We’ll definitely be staying tuned for more episodes and we hope you do too!

You can view the first episode of The Power Inside by clicking on video above.